A visit to Portland, Oregon

I went to Portland a couple of weeks back for work. I really should be blogging about that part, but I’ll save that for the next post. This time, I want to talk about the fabric stores I visited! (Also what I made with my bounty so far.)

I had a few free hours here and there, and when possible, I snuck away to one of the zillions of sewing stores in the area. The first one I went to was Mill End. I had to take a Lyft there and back, which wasn’t cheap, but I’m still glad I went.

But it was overwhelming. Probably a good thing for my wallet, because I could have spent thousands in there. There was so much fabric! And types that I just can’t buy in person here. Knits and swim fabric and linens and silks and sequins and on and on and on.

The main reason I went was to look at knits because stores here don’t stock them much, but in the end I walked out with two lengths of fabric – both wovens. Oops. One was this poppy print quilting cotton, and the other is this tropical print linen. (Also, excitingly, I was able to buy a pack of bobbins for my machine – they’re not easy to get since it’s vintage.)

Cotton woven

Linen!

The next morning, I had some more free time so I took the city bus across town to Bolt Fabric Boutique. It was much smaller but only slightly less overwhelming. One thing I loved about Bolt was that they had a huge selection of indie patterns. Most patterns I buy I get digitally which is fine, but printing and taping them together isn’t always fun. So it’s nice to be able to buy it already printed with a nice instruction booklet included. I bought the Liesl + Co Soho skirt/shorts pattern.

Fabric-wise, they had so many beautiful prints, but this time I was determined to get a knit since I’d failed in my mission the day before. I got this, which is destined for a shirt, I think.

You can’t really tell, but it has some metallic threads in it. Fun!

Later that day, my friend Denise and I went to wander around another neighborhood, where we stumbled upon Josephine’s Dry Goods. I definitely didn’t feel wealthy enough to be shopping in there, but I enjoyed looking at the gorgeous fabrics. So many Liberty of London prints! (And why wasn’t I sewing last year when I was in London? Sob!) But at $40+ a yard, there’s no way in hell.

We also found this cute store, Donna and Toots that sold some fabric, as well as handmade clothes. They had some great stuff, but I’d already spent way too much, so I resisted.

When I got home, I pretty much immediately made the Soho skirt out of the poppy fabric. Even though I had trouble with the waistband (no one’s fault but my own), it came out pretty well. My first real zipper (and invisible, no less!) and of course it has pockets as well. I love it!

Can you see the zipper? NO YOU CANNOT BECAUSE IT IS INVISIBLE. (Okay, you can see the zipper pull but THAT IS IT.)

Not entirely sure what I’m going to do with the linen, but I need to do something fast since it’s so summery. I was thinking another Leralynn dress but maybe I need to branch out. Suggestions always welcome! (I don’t think I need another skirt either. Maybe a top?)

I also made a pair of shorts out of the Soho pattern, but they’re themed for Wednesday so I’m going to save that pic for the Fourth. 😀